NEWS CENTER - Ishtar Council Coordination member Çiçek Cengiz stated that Makhmur, to which Turkey has imposed an embargo by the hand of the KDP, wants to depopulate the region and said, "The attacks will be repelled with resistance."

 

12 thousand people, who migrated from Şırnak and Hakkari in the 1990s because villages were burned to the ground by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), and started to live in the Makhmur Camp they established next to the Makhmur district, which is 100 kilometers away from the Mosul province of Iraq, have been kept under siege for the last 3 years. Makhmur Camp, which was besieged on July 17, 2019, when Osman Köse, a diplomat at the Turkish Consulate General in Hewler, the capital of the Federated Kurdistan Region, lost his life as a result of an armed attack, has been the target of continuous air attacks by Turkey. Despite being under the auspices of the United Nations (UN), the international silence against the said blockade and attacks continues. 

 

Evaluating the 3-year embargo in Makhmur and Turkey's attacks, Ishtar Council Coordination Member Çiçek Cengiz said that the main aim of the KDP and AKP is to overthrow the democratic system established with the paradigm of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan.

 

THE EMBARGO OF KDP AND TURKEY

 

Reminding that the pressure of the KDP against the camp has been going on for years and the camp has been tried to be evacuated many times before, Çiçek said, "Turkey is aiming to depopulate the camp by continuing its attacks with the KDP. There are roadblocks established by the Asayish forces along the way to Hewler and they are arresting the citizens who travel on this road for work. In fact, this embargo, repression and attacks are directly related to the isolation imposed on Mr. Öcalan. As the isolation deepens, so do the attacks."

 

THE EMBARGO ON MAKHMUR FAILED

 

Stating that the people of the camp made the embargo ineffective, Cengiz said, “The closure of the roads affected us negatively in terms of economy, health and life. However, the public began to produce alternatives methods to get the embargo on the camp to fail. The people of the camp are doing their best not to be dependent on the KDP and produce methods for it. The committees established by the people, meet the health and economic needs of the camp. Although this is not enough, the people are trying to frustrate the embargo in this way."

 

'THEY ARE TRYING TO DESTROY THE MODEL IMPLEMENTED IN MAKHMUR CAMP'

 

Stating that the main purpose of the embargo and the attacks against the camp is to destroy the administrative system in Makhmur, Cengiz said, “Global powers want to destroy the Democratic Nation and Democratic Confederalism system built by Mr. Öcalan with all kinds of conspiracies. The people living in the camp have interiorised the model. But the ruling powers of the world are attacking to overthrow and defeat this system. They want to destroy this iysten established by Mr. Öcalan. However the people living in the camp failed these plans. They insist on defending the ideas of Mr. Öcalan. People have not taken a single step back."

 

UN IS NOT FULFILLING ITS RESPONSIBILITIES 

 

Reminding that the camp is under the auspices of the UN, Çiçek said: “The UN is not fulfilling its duties and responsibilities. It could not even make a statement against the attack and the embargo. The UN was under the influence of the powers that applied the embargo. If the UN had fulfilled its role and mission, there would be no embargo at the camp right now. Our people would not be suffering from the attacks and oppression of these forces. Although important steps have been taken in the field of health, there are still deficiencies in many areas. Our citizens with chronic diseases are having difficulties because some of their medicines are not available in the camp. There has been a UN-affiliated hospital in the camp since 2000. However, even the shortcomings of this hospital are not eliminated. So far, many pregnant women have lost their children because they were kept waiting at checkpoints by the KDP.”

 

RESISTANCE AND STRUGGLE

 

Stating that the ongoing embargo in the camp affects women and children the most, Çiçek said, “Children and women are targeted in the air strikes carried out by Turkey in the camp. That's why children are most affected by attacks, both physically and psychologically. UN or other forces do not raise their voices to stop these attacks. These attacks might intensify in the near future. However the people of Makhmur will eliminate and repel these attacks with their resistance. The Iraqi government is not fulfilling its duties either. The camp is affiliated with the Iraqi government. Camp residents are doing perpetual demonstrations to make their voices heard by the authorities. This resistance and struggle of the people of the camp will frustrate all oppression and attacks.”